She stepped past him and a door appeared before her out of the nothingness. She opened it and stepped inside. He watched as she walked deeper into the space beyond that door, his view slowly being cut off as it swung shut on silent hinges.

            It closed and Kaworu was alone. He gazed at the door for a few more minutes before he turned and walked away. As he walked he could feel the call, and he knew that soon he would have to return to earth and carry out his mission. He prayed that she would make it back in time.

____________________

            The room was silent and dark. Sparsely furnished and decorated it appeared almost as if no one actually resided there. But the form on the bed proved otherwise. Shinji Ikari lay curled up in the center of his bed staring wide eyed at the opposite wall, unable to sleep, despite his fatigue, because of his dreams, dreams filled with decaying bodies and hundreds of voices lifted in insane laughter.

            The memory sends a shudder through his frail body, but he can not cry. He cried himself out several hours ago. After returning from the depths of NERV he had laid down on his bed and cried. That had been almost twenty four hours ago.

            Slowly he crawled out of bed and made his way through the dark to the door. Sliding it open he felt his way along the walls on unsteady feet to the bathroom. The harsh yellow lights hurt his eyes so he shut them off again and held onto the edge of the sink with a white knuckled grip.

            With shaking hands he reached out and turned on the cold water, putting in the stopper so the sink would fill. For several minutes the water splashing into the porcelain sink was the only sound in the small apartment.

            Finally, the water reached the edge of the sink and he shut it off. Then, he leaned over and shoved his whole head into the frigid water. The shock drove out any sense of being tired. He kept his head under water as long as he could then when his breath gave out he jerked back out of the sink.

            Cold water streamed down his bare chest and back and dripped from his hair onto the linoleum floor. Taking a step back his heel hit a wet spot on the floor and his feet flew out from under him sending him to the floor with a crash.

            He lay on the floor for several minutes his body shuddering with sobs but still the tears would not come. The sounds of footsteps in the hallway told him that his fall had woken his roommate. The door slid open and there was a quiet click, followed by light flooding the room.

            He looked up to see Misato standing in the doorway, one hand still on the light switch. She didn't look much better than he did. Her hair was a mess and the dark circles under her eyes told him that she had slept as little as he had. Which is to say not at all.

            She kneeled beside him and gathered him into her arms, holding him tightly against her. He lay, limp in her arms shivering with the cold and his grief. Slowly he raised his head to look at her and she would forever be tormented by that memory.

            She saw something she never thought she would have to see. She saw Shinji Ikari finally broken. Finally giving up. She had watched with growing pride as, despite his fear, he had risen to every challenge.

            The third angel, then the fourth. Coming back to destroy the fifth after it had almost killed him. The sixth with Asuka then synch training for the seventh. The eighth and his daring leap into the volcano to save the girl he secretly loved.

            The ninth angel and he rose to the challenge again; he caught the tenth and saved the whole city. He was swallowed by the twelfth and even in the moment before he had passed out after breaking free she had seen an almost peaceful smile on his face. The thirteenth, one of the worst memories he will have, but still he came back for the fourteenth.

            Then the fifteenth angel. He had screamed and pleaded with his father to let him fight. But he had not been allowed to save Asuka, and she had suffered the ultimate price as the result. After everything she had watched him bravely lift his face to the next enemy. She watched him fight when that was the last thing he wanted to do. She saw the anger in him and the love that he had for his friends, and Asuka.

            Now, she saw the shattered remains of his sanity slipping away before her very eyes. Shinji Ikari was no longer the persistent fighter she knew he could be. She held him tightly and let the tears overtake her, rocking him softly back and forth.

            Finally he fell asleep in her arms and as the sun peeked over the horizon she leaned back against the wall and drifted off herself.

____________________

            On a beach of a lake that was the crater created by the destruction of Unit 00 a lone figure waits. He stands quietly by that shore without moving for several hours. He seems to be listening to something, and indeed he is.

            Heard only to him are the sobs of a broken boy, and in his heart he shares the pain and anguish felt by Shinji Ikari. Standing by that lonely shore tears begin to pour from his deep red eyes, and as the sun breaks over the horizon it highlights his gray hair and pale skin.

            "She will not make it in time to save him," he says. For several minutes more he stands there before his shoulders slump in despair and he turns his back on the beautiful sunrise, walking slowly away from the lake.

____________________

            Deep beneath the earth a woman sits in silent contemplation. All is dark save for the glowing red insignia on the wall beside her but she does not look towards it. Several strands of blond hair had fallen in front of her eyes but she makes no move to brush them aside.

            Dr. Ritsuko Akagi sat in her cell as she had for the last twelve hours. As soon as the commander had heard of her destruction of the dummy plug system he had had her arrested. Now she was trying to find out where she had gone wrong. When she had fallen in love with a cold-hearted bastard that didn't care for her at all.

            Perhaps she would never find her answer.

____________________

            As the sun set that night Shinji was out again wandering the streets. He found himself at the edge of the lake that was created when Unit 00 blew up. Earlier that day he had awoken from a fitful sleep to find himself on the floor of the bathroom.

            Rising quietly he had slipped out and to his room where he quickly dressed and then left the apartment, for once leaving his SDAT behind.

            "All my friends," he mumbled as he stood at the waters edge, "Touji, Kensuke. All their homes have been destroyed and now they've left. Friends. I don't have anybody left I can call my friend. Nobody."

Looking out across the lake it strikes him what a beautiful scene it was. The sun was setting behind the mountains to the west, and it left streaks of light on the cold water. Nearby he could see the remnants of a broken statue sticking up out of the water.

            It looked like it might once have been a statue of a human figure, but now the head was gone, and the heat of the explosion had blackened the stone. He saw the statue without really looking at it and then turned his head away to contemplate his situation.

            After a few minutes he heard an unusual sound and turned his head back towards the statue. A boy was sitting on one of the outstretched arms, humming softly.

            "A song is good."

            "Wha?"

            "Singing brings joy or revitalizes the human soul I think that song is the highest achievement of the Lillum culture. Don't you agree?" He turned to face Shinji, blood red eyes peering at him from beneath a shock of gray hair, framed by a very pale face. Much like Ayanami. "Shinji Ikari."

            "How do you know my name?"

            "Everyone knows your name. I don't mean to sound rude but you're rather ignorant of your own position." Shinji was slightly surprised by this calm comment.

            "Oh, really? But who are you?"

            "I am Kaoru, Kaoru Nagisa. I am like you one of the selected Children, The Fifth Child." Shinji was once again floored by the calm statement while at the same time the boys voice held a lyric quality that pleased him.

            "You're the fifth Child? Um… Mr. Nagisa-" Kaoru laughed cutting him off in mid sentence.

            "Call me Kaoru Mr. Ikari." Despite his melancholy mood Shinji found himself laughing at the mirrored words.

            "Mr. Ikari? Oh no, you can call me Shinji." For the first time in what seemed a lifetime Shinji smiled as the two shared a chuckle over their words. An amicable silence descended and they watched as the sun sank lower over the horizon.

____________________

            Later that evening the three Children were at NERV for their Synch tests.

            "Take it down 0.03 more." Sub commander Fuyutski stood behind the seat of the technicians monitoring the test.

            "Yes Sir," Maya said.

            "Are these data readouts correct?" he asked. On the screen a three-way transmission was patched in giving a split screen view of all three children. While Rei and Shinji both wore expressions of grim concentration, their eyes closed mouths set in firm lines, Kaorus mouth was turned up at one corner in a small smile, and his face was peaceful, unconcerned.

            "All of the test systems are operating correctly sir," Makato said, the light from his monitor reflected off of his glasses as he studied the information scrolling up the screen.

            "The Magi confirm that there are no data errors." Fuyutski leaned over Mayas shoulder to stare at the image of the Fifth Child.

            "It's incredible that he can synchronize so well with unit two even before we've reconfigured the core. He's amazing."

            "But- but this isn't possible," Maya stammered.

            "Nevertheless it's happened," Misato barked, speaking up for the first time during the test. "We must accept that fact and begin an investigation into why it is so." Misato glared at the screen for a few moments. Her time at NERV had made her very suspicious of convenient timing and the fifth's arrival was way TOO convenient for her taste.

____________________

            After the test Shinji found himself sitting outside of Gate 13 Exit B-16 listening to his SDAT and contemplating the unusual events of the day. Leaning back against a low wall one leg stretched out in front of him and the other drawn up to his chest, he leaned one arm on his knee while his eyes trained on a spot on the floor some four feet in front of him.

            Once again his thoughts had turned to his own pain. Touji, Kensuke, Hikari… Asuka. All of these names hurt him to think of, but none more than that of Asuka Langley Sohryu. In an almost unconscious gesture he twisted the ring on his left hand around with his right taking some comfort in the feel of the metal.

            With a hiss the large reinforced steel gate in front of him slid open to reveal Kaoru standing there once again in his school uniform. His lips were turned up in a soft smile and both of his hands were shoved into his pants pockets.

            "Where you waiting for me?" he asked as he stepped through the gateway and the large doors snapped closed behind him.

            "Huh?" Shinji's head snapped up and his eyes focused on the gray haired boy before him. "What was that?" he asked as he removed the earbuds and turned off his SDAT.

            "I was wondering if you were waiting for me," Kaoru said. "I take it by your reaction that you were not expecting to see me here."

            "Oh. Uh, no not really. I wasn't waiting for you. I was just thinking."

            "Of the Second Child?" Kaoru asked as he leaned over to bring himself mostly to eye level with Shinji.

            The Pilot of Unit-01 would have jerked back at the proximity if his back hadn't been against the wall.    "A-A-Asuka?" he stammered. "W-w-what a-about her?"

            "You were thinking of her?"

            "Why do you ask?"

            Kaoru stood and smiled down at the flustered and now slightly defensive pilot. "It is merely that I have heard you were quite in love with her, and I also heard of her unfortunate death. I was wondering if you might want to talk to someone about it?"

            Shinji turned his head to the side, looking away from the pale boy. "There's nothing to talk about," he said, his voice as cold as a glacier. "She's dead, and I'm not, and I still have one more angel to kill. Once the angels are gone, then I will mourn." He neglected to mention the fact that he had been in mourning for nearly three weeks now.

            "If you would like to talk to someone sometime, I will be glad to listen. NERV has provided a dorm room for me near the Geofront. You can come to see me anytime if you wish." With those final words he turned and walked slowly down the hallway, absently humming a tune. The Ninth symphony- An Ode to Joy.

            He didn't get very far. "W-wait," Shinji called out before he'd gone even ten steps.

            "Yes," Kaoru said, turning to look at Shinji.

            "Um, I-I was just about to hit the showers. I find that it's a bit relaxing after the tests. W-would you care to join me?" He blushed as he realized how that sentence could be misinterpreted, but the pale skinned Fifth Child answered before he had time to stammer out the apology that instantly sprang to his lips.

            "Yes I would like that. Perhaps you can speak to me of the Second Child."

            "Yeah, m-maybe." Shinji scrambled to his feet and the two walked along the corridors towards the baths.

____________________

            "Where the hell am I?" Asuka muttered to herself. The vast landscape around her was silent, and dark. A prison of shadows. "Face my fears," she mimicked in a scornful tone. "If he hurts Shinji I swear to god he'll live to regret it."

            Setting her face the fiery Second Child marched onwards into the gloom and the fate that awaited her.

____________________

            "She sounds like a very special girl," Kaoru said as he and Shinji sat in the NERV baths. The large screen in front of them showed a cycling nature scene, accompanied by soothing music, but the volume was so low it was difficult to place.

            "She is. She's one of the most volatile people I know," Shinji went on with his tale of the Second Child, "but at the same time she's very fragile you know? She hides her feelings behind this wall of anger, and hostility, driving everyone away in an attempt to make sure no one can ever hurt her, but she just hurts herself when she does that."

            "But you got through her defenses did you not? She loved you, and that is why she took her own life."

            "Yeah I guess, but… I wish… that she was still here." The animated, almost happy expression that had been etched on the boys face during his narrative fell away to be replaced by a look of loss. "I miss her Kaoru."

            "I understand Shinji," Kaoru said, moving his hand to place it over Shinji's. "But believe me when I say, that you'll see her again one day." Kaoru stood as the lights in the bath suddenly went out. "Until that day… remember Shinji that you still have people here who love you. Remember… that I love you."

____________________

            The lights in the cell came on with a sudden flash, blinding the woman who'd been sitting in absolute darkness for many hours. She sat on the metal folding chair, her back to the door, leaning forwards with her elbows on her knees. Despite the silence, she knew who was behind her without even turning to look.

            "Why did you do it?" he asked.

            "Because she didn't deserve to live. They didn't deserve to live."

            "That is not an answer Doctor, try again. Why did you destroy the Dummy Plug System?"

            "BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T LOVE ME," she screamed, tears beginning to pour down her face. "You only loved HER. I knew you didn't care for me, even when you made love to me, you never cared."

            "That is correct."

            "Why?"

            "That is none of your concern."

            Then he was gone. And her cell was once again cast into utter blackness.

____________________

            Eva Cage. Unit-02 stood silent and immobile on in the thick suspension fluid that filled the cave. On the catwalk above a young man stood gazing down at the mockery of life, the imitation of the Angel, and that glory that was god.

            "I can appreciate so much of the beauty of this lilum culture, but their perverse desire to play god, and destroy each other still baffles me. How can one species be so consistently self destructive, having destroyed billions of their own kind in countless wars over the years, and still remain the dominant species on the planet?"

            He shook his head in resignation. "I don't think I will ever learn the answer to that question, particularly since my time has now ended." He bowed his head and a single pure tear slid down his cheek to fall into the thick liquid below. "I am sorry Asuka, I wasn't able to hold on long enough. I hope, you can help him pick up the pieces when you finally arrive."

            "Come to me, shadow of Adam," he called as his body flooded with power, and he rose into the air, floating towards the massive Unit-02. The biomechanical weapon surged to life at his thought and together they descended into the depths of NERV, and as they moved ever closer to their destination an old American nursery rhyme flitted through Tabris' mind.. and he changed a name to fit the situation.

            "Shinji Ikari sat on a wall, Shinji Ikari had a great fall. All the kings horses and all the kings men, couldn't put Shinji's heart back together again… But maybe, Asuka can."

____________________

            The night would be one long remembered. Though that night no one knew of the true goings on. All they saw, was the destruction of the 17th and final angel. But in a small cemetery near the outskirts of the city, a miracle took shape.

            The sky above was black, laden with heavy storm clouds, lightning flaring fitfully in their depths. Two NERV Agents stood their silent vigil over one specific grave. So intent were they on the world in front of them that they failed to see the small point of light, floating in the air behind them.

            The shimmering dot slowly grew, and took shape. An outline of a woman stood there, a young girl with long flowing hair hanging past her shoulders, and the slender curves of a young body. The light receded, and in its place the woman stood, her eyes hollow and filled with a great sorrow as from across the city, she felt in her heart, the body of an angel being broken.

            Not knowing where she was, who she was, or why she was there she stepped forwards and knelt by the black marker. Slipping one hand around the edge she silently lifted a small circle of metal from the tombstone. And as she walked away, she slipped it onto the fourth finger of her left hand, and she smiled bitterly as she remembered.

End

More Notes: I'll make them quick this time. I just want to apologize for how long this took me, and for the delays on all of my other fics. I hope you all enjoy this one and please stay tuned I AM trying to write more and faster. I'll have these stories finished eventually. I'm not gonna just drop any of them. Thank you.

In the next chapter… shit I'm not sure what happens in the next chapter. *audience finally gets over their shock at seeing a breathing Ryan and threatens to kill him again* Oh wait I remember now. Okay, things are beginning to come to a head, and if the audience doesn't kill me again *glares at his audience* I may be able to finish it in just two more chapters. Then an epilogue of some sort.

Thank you for reading.

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